Three stories
by Joni
Summary: What did actually happen on Braska's pilgrimage? How did they meet Jecht? What was Auron like when he was a newbie? Read and find out! This is a story about friendship and adventure with a little bit of humor.
1. The first battle

It definately wasn't one of the best days in the isle of Besaid. The sky was grey and it would soon start raining. A cold wind blew through the island, making the two travellers shiver. 

"Braska... we have to hurry," Auron said.

"I know, I wanna be there before the rain, too."

They started to walk faster. Suddenly Auron stopped, hearing a rattling noice from somewhere. Braska heard it, too. They didn't need to wonder what made the noice, because it soon revealed itself by jumping in front of them, blocking their path. A monster.

"Braska, stay back! I shall kill it!"

"Ok, but be careful!"

Auron drew out his Murasame. It hadn't been a long time since he had acquired it, and he still hadn't used it in a real battle. He wasn't too confident about his skills, but he knew that if he was going to be a Guardian, he'd have to be able to defend Braska. Running away was out of question.

He tried to attack the dog-looking creature, but was way too slow, mostly because of the weight of his sword. Auron hit the ground, instead of the enemy which jumped towards him and bit him in the shoulder. After kicking it away he tried to give it one deadly hit but it was another miss. The monster attacked again.

This time Braska cast a protective spell on Auron which sheltered him from the monster's fangs. It hit the invisible barrier and fell on its back. Auron was fast and he thrusted his massive sword into the creature, almost dividing it in half.

Auron sighed and wiped the sweat off from his forehead.

"That was close," Braska said.

"Hell, without you I'd be dead. Thanks."

"It's alright. Hey, you're wounded. This should help..."

Braska cast Cure and the bleeding wound in Auron's shoulder closed.

"C'mon, the village isn't far."

* * *

They made it just in time. By the time they were inside the Besaid Temple it was already raining outside. A priest was blocking their way to the Cloister of Trials. 

"May I ask, who are you?"

"My name is Braska and I'm a summoner from Bevelle. This is my Guardian, Auron."

"Is this the first temple you're visiting...?"

"Yes, it is."

"I see... It is my duty to inform you that we can't guarantee your safety in there. Are you still willing to go?"

"Yes."

The priest stepped aside.

"May Yevon be with you."

* * *

Braska had done praying by the evening. It had been a painfully long time for Auron to wait but he was happy to see Braska again. 

"Auron... I made it! I'm a REAL summoner now!"

"I'm happy for you."

The men returned to the village and found a bed for the night. It was warm as usual again.

"You know what, Auron?" Braska said while lying on the bed.

"Yeah?"

"This seems like a nice village. A perfect place for kids. Bevelle is such a dangerous place... and after I've done the Final Summoning - if I've done it - I will most probably become quite famous. When the next calm is over, I know that people will except a lot from Yuna, and I think that it would be hard for her to live in Bevelle under those circumstances. But here..."

"I understand."

"When we arrive in Bevelle, I'm gonna talk to Kimahri. If I succeed to defeat Sin, he shall bring my family here."

"A good decision."

"Well, I'll still have to think about it. Good night."

"Good night."

* * *

AUTHOR: Well, this is my first FFX story. Read&review and stuff... I hope you like it! 


	2. Lost

"Fuck!" 

Jecht didn't feel good. He had been drinking all night, partying the latest victory of the Zanarkand Abes. He remember that he had wandered around Zanarkand, fought with somebody... but he had absolutely no idea how he had ended up in this goddamn jungle.

He stopped for a while and leaned against a palm tree. He drank the rest of the whiskey he had with him and continued walking. Would he ever make it out of that place?

Finally, a road. He started walking along it, with no idea where it would take him. Luckily he met a man on the way.

"Excuse me, this might sound silly but... where am I?"

"What? Is this a joke?"

The villager stared at Jecht with suspicion.

"I wish it was, but it isn't. I've got no idea how I got here."

"Hmm... maybe you've hit your head or something. You're in Kilika right now."

Jecht raised an eyebrow.

"Kilika? Never heard of it."

"Geez! Are you from Bevelle or something...?"

"I'm from Zanarkand."

The man wondered if that was a joke.

"Yeah, right," he said. "I don't know, but it sounds like you've been too close to Sin. It's toxin affects you that way."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I just want to get back home."

"I see. Follow me. Maybe someone at the temple can help you."

Temple? Sin? Kilika? Jecht desperately tried to remember what had happened last night. It was no use. All thinking just seemed to make his headache worse, so he just concentrated on walking, although that was a pain to him as well. Finally they reached the temple.

The villager explained everything to a priest.

"May I ask, where do you come from?" the priest asked after the villager had gone away.

"I come from Zanarkand."

He stared at Jecht, trying to see if he was joking or not.

"Impossible. Zanarkand has been nothing but ruins for the last thousand years."

Jecht sighed. His headache was getting worse, he felt himself quite weak and the tropical climate caused him to sweat. The last thing he wanted was bad jokes from a priest.

"Seriously. I just need to get back there."

"I have talked to people who've visited Zanarkand and they have all told me that it'd be impossible to live there because of all those fiends. Have you been near Sin lately?"

"Sin? Oh yeah, that man who brought me here mentioned it. What is Sin?"

"It takes me a while to explain. Please, come inside."

* * *

Auron and Braska arrived in Kilika. 

"We shall buy some supplies before we go to the temple," Braska said.

They noticed that the town was quite unique. It seemed like a busy place, with people everywhere, but on the other hand it seemed so relaxed. Children were playing, fishermen were fishing and all the stores were open and they had a lot of customers. Still, some persons were just sitting and enjoying the sunny day. You could smell fish everywhere, naturally, since it was a harbor town.

"Hey, I'd like to taste some local fish," Auron said. "They say that the best seafood comes from here."

"Now you're talking! But let's go to the temple first."

After Braska got his supplies - a few potions and remedies - they headed to the jungle. They made it through without getting into a battle, and Auron was quite happy about that. He wasn't ready for another battle yet.

* * *

Everything went well in the temple. The sphere puzzle was easy enough and Braska acquired a new Aeon, Ifrit. Auron was happy because it would help them a lot in battles, but he was also ashamed because Braska couldn't fully trust his skills. Of course, Braska would never say that out loud but Auron still knew what he was thinking. 

"Thank Yevon, you have returned," the priest said when they came back from the Cloister of Trials.

"There were no fiends," Braska said. "You've done a good job keeping them out of there."

"Why, thank you, summoner Braska."

'Summoner.' Braska liked the sound of that.

"May I ask you a little favor?" the priest asked.

"Depends what it is."

"A strange man called Jecht came here a few hours ago. He has got no memory on how he came here and he claims that he lives in Zanarkand. I'm afraid that Sin's toxin may have affected him. So I was thinking... since he cannot stay here forever, maybe you could take him with you? Perhaps somebody recognizes him, since no one here in Kilika does."

"Can we meet him?"

The priest led them to a room where Jecht was resting. They woke him up. After introducing themselves and explaining the situation, Braska made his decision.

"Can you fight?" he asked.

"I know how to use a sword, although I don't have one," Jecht answered.

"We'll buy you one. You can be my Guardian and travel with us, and maybe somebody will recognize you somewhere. If not, at least you'll be able to see Zanarkand with your own eyes."

"Alright. Thanks."

Auron took a look outside and said: "It's getting late. We'd better head back to the town or we'll miss our boat to Luca."


	3. Blitz!

The second-greatest city in Spira: Luca. Bevelle was still far larger but Luca was the place where everyone wanted to go. Tourist were attracted by various things, like the great Sphere Theatre. However, the most popular attraction was the Blitzball stadium, naturally. Jecht, of course, was quite excited when Braska told him that Blitzball was still as popular as it was thousand years ago. 

"Hahahaa, I sure wanna see how they play these days!" he said.

"Well, we get to see one match," Braska said and added: "Al Bhed Psyches V.S Lacya Lions. And we can thank the Lacyans for our transportation to Djose..."

Lacya was Spira's 3rd biggest city, located in the eastern coast. It was under constant threat of Sin's attack and that's why the Lacyans supported the summoners with everything they had. It was even rumoured that their Blitzball team was founded only to provide transportation between Luja and Djose.

Jecht and Auron followed Braska to the Lions's locker room. Their captain, Caccet O'Leary, was happy to see them again.

"Hey, you made it here! And I see you've got a new Guardian?"

"Yeah." Braska didn't feel necessary to explain why Jecht was there. "Jecht, this is the Lions's captain, Caccet."

"Nice to meet ya," Jecht said and shaked hands with Caccet. "I'm a Blitz player, too."

"Really? Which team?"

Auron poked Jecht to the side so that the others couldn't see. It was unnecessary to mention the legendary Zanarkand Abes since no one would believe him, anyways.

"Err... I've been in many teams. Although I've mostly stayed in the locker room..."

"I see. Hey, everyone, the match will start soon."

* * *

The match was painful for the Lions. All their players were in defense and it seemed just impossible for them to attack. Then an Al Bhed player managed to break through and shoot. 1-0. Right before the halftime a single Lion got the ball and tried to get through the enemy's lines, only to get crushed by three players. He was injured. On the last second the Al Bhed still managed to score once. 2-0. 

It didn't take long when exhausted Caccet ran to the audience.

"You saw how our player was injured, right? If we can't get someone to replace him, we have no choice but giving up! Jecht, would you help us?"

Jecht used a few seconds to think.

"Sure," he decided. Before he left, he whispered to Braska: "This'll prove that I played in Zanarkand Abes."

The Lions with their new member used the remaining time to rethink the strategy. Jecht was pretty confident when the game started again.

_"Blitz!"_

Jecht got the ball first. He moved forwards and passed it to his teammate when the Al Bhed defense was getting too close. It was easy to slip behind them when he hadn't the ball to protect anymore. It was passed back to him and there was no opposition in front of him anymore. He just swam near enough and launched an accurate shot. 2-1.

Then the Al Bhed almost scored again but the goalie was awake. He caught the ball and passed it to right fielder, who passed it to Jecht. The Al Bhed defense tried to stop him but they weren't strong enough, and Jecht was able to continue. He was able to pass the ball to the left fielder who was in a good position to score. A good shot and the game was 2-2.

Jecht felt like he hadn't showed his skills enough yet. When there was one minute left in the game clock, he started to advance furiously, despite the enemy opposition. Finally he was stopped by two defenders, and since they were blocking his way, he couldn't shoot. Well, a normal player couldn't have shot in a situation like that...

He threw the ball at the face of the other defender, knocking him out, doing the same for the other one. Then he started spinning like a carousel (only faster) and hit the ball. Jecht Shot made its way to the goal and the Lacyan Lions won the game.

Braska started thinking about Jecht's words. Maybe it wasn't impossible that he had come from Zanarkand...?

* * *

They had to wait some time for Jecht before the ship could leave. Finally, he arrived with a bottle of vodka in his hand. 

"Sorry, I'm late. Had to do some shopping," he said and took a sip.

Braska was leaning on the edge, looking at the harbor of Luca. Auron came there.

"Could that guy actually come from Zanarkand?" he asked.

"I don't know what to believe anymore. I guess that we'll find out eventually."

"Yeah. Well, we'll be Djose tomorrow."

"I hope so. First we'll arrive in the port village of Ulsen and continue to Djose from there. And I sure hope that my new Guardian doesn't party too much today..."

* * *

AUTHOR: "What was that Lacyan thing?" they ask. It's got something to do with the story... You'll find out. 


	4. Learning to fight

The Lacyan ship arrived in the port of Ulsen the next morning. It had been a pain to wake Jecht up (he had drank a little too much last night) but the trio was now safely back on steady ground. Ulsen was a small village, maybe as big as Besaid, equipped with a pub, general store, weapons store, an inn and some private houses. Compared to Besaid or Kilika it looked quite different since all the houses were made of wood and there were wooden sidewalks on both sides of the main street, just like in a Wild West movie. Didn't need a genius to understand the meaning of the sidewalks; the road itself was so muddy that it would've been impossible to walk on it. You could tell on the first glance that it rained a lot in there, and the weather didn't look too good now, either. Then our trio faced their first problem. 

"Auron, give me some gil. I need to buy a few ethers," Braska said with his last coins on his hand.

"I've only got five gil," Auron said, looking at Jecht.

"Don't look at me. I'm broke," he said.

It was quite obvious what they needed, but Auron still said it out loud: "We need more money."

Braska agreed with him. "Let's go see if there's some work for us in this village. I'm gonna go ask in the general store."

Auron decided to follow Braska as Jecht said he had something else in his mind, so the trio split up. Auron and Braska found work immediately.

"Summoner, you could first put all the products to the shelf," the old, fragile-looking man behind the counter said. "Then you could watch over the store for a few hours because I need to go to my daughter's birthday party. Thank Yevon you are here!"

"How much will you pay for the job?" Braska asked, definately interested.

"150 gil, and if do your job well, I might add a 50 gil bonus. What do you say?"

There was no need to think twice about the offer, that generous it was.

"It's a deal. What about my friend?"

The old timer looked at Auron for a few seconds, making him feel quite awkward. Then he said: "Follow me."

They left the shop and headed to the weapons store.

"Glerch, what a pleasure to see you," the thin, short man - the owner of the store - said. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I met this boy and he says he wants to earn some money. As he seems to have such a massive sword, I thought he might just have what it takes to get rid of those fiends that've been lurking around here for some time."

"Hmm... what's your name?" the store owner asked from Auron.

"I'm Auron. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Flen. Listen, we've had a lot of trouble lately because of some particularly nasty monsters. I'll give you 100 gil from each one that you kill. Are you up for the job?"

Auron wasn't too sure about it but he said yes.

* * *

He saw Jecht coming out of the pub as he exited the store. 

"Drinking again?"

"Haha, no. Not really. I just earned us 500 gil with cards."

Before Auron could say anything about Jecht's card playing skills, someone shouted: "That fucker cheated!"

It was better to disappear. They walked to the forest where the "particularly nasty fiends" were supposed to be. Auron didn't really care if he was cheating by bringing Jecht with him; they'd just kill more monsters and earn more money, and after all, it all went for a better purpose: defeating Sin.

"Listen!" Jecht said and drew out his new sword which was bought from Kilika. Something was moving around them... and that something attacked! Jecht ducked and the furious bird missed him. Then, as the bird turned around, Auron lost that little bit of self-confidence he had. He threw his Murasame away as he jumped to avoid the bird's wrath, tripping on a branch while landing. Jecht was so surprised of Auron's behaviour that he was barely able to dodge the bird's next attack. He struck it once and it fell to the ground, dead.

"What the heck is the matter with you!"

Auron rose up slowly and picked up his sword, still trembling a bit. What a disgrace. "I'm sorry... I - I just can't handle these situations too well."

Jecht felt pity for the young man, regretting that he had shout at him. He tapped him on the back encouragingly and said: "It's okay. But if you really wanna guard someone, you need to know how to fight. You just need more training, that's all."

"...you think so?"

"Yeah! You'll never be able to beat your enemy if you don't know that you can beat it. And when you've got skills... well, it gets easier. Hey, try hitting that tree. I wanna see what you've got."

Auron took a deep breath and hit the tree with all the strenght he had. It was a good attempt but the weight of the sword made him lose balance and he almost fell down.

"No, no, no," Jecht said and shook his head. "Look, don't hit it so hard. That sword is so big that you only need to hit the enemy to do some major damage. Try again with more accuracy."

Auron looked at the tree as if it was a real enemy. Then he slashed it with a slower, more controlled movement. He stumbled a bit but at least it looked much better now.

"Good. Next... uh oh, we've got company."

A big reptile with a hard shield covering its back crawled from the bushes. Jecht didn't even try to attack it.

"That one is perfect for you," he said. "It's slow enough that you can hit it. Try it out."

Auron, filled with newly-found confidence, looked at his enemy, preparing to strike. He took his time before swinging his sword and hit the reptile's shield, impaling it. It wasn't dead yet, so he slashed again, finishing it for good.

"That's the spirit," Jecht praised him. "You've just gotta support yourself more with your feet and train harder. But hey, you will learn! Now, shall we kill some more of them...?"


	5. A new threat

With 2100 gil in their pockets, Jecht, Auron and Braska walked along a curvy little road which led to Djose. Auron had managed to kill a few more fiends and he wanted to talk about it, but he understood how idiotic he'd look by bragging about those easy fights so he talked about completely different things with Braska - like their travel plans. Jecht, however, walked with them quietly. He was a bit uncertain if he was the right person to teach young Auron to fight - after all, most of his fighting skills were achieved in self-defense lessons in Zanarkand. Still, that wasn't the main concern he had in mind; he only wished to get the heck out of there, back to his own life. Back to his own family. 

"God damn it, how long do we still have to walk!"

"Take it easy, Jecht. It shouldn't take long anymore..."

Jecht opened his bottle of vodka and drank a bit. Alcohol might not take him back home but it certainly made him feel better. Of course, the effect sometimes backfired but that was rare in his case.

"I'd rather see you sober when we reach the temple," Auron said. He didn't like alcohol and neither did Braska. While Braska thought that drinking was against Yevon's teachings Auron disliked it because he had seen too much good people suffering because of it.

"Sure, whatever. But after we get out of the temple..."

They soon reached Djose...

* * *

After obtaining Ixion in the Cloister of Trials Braska and his Guardians went to the room where the priests had arranged beds for them. Braska and Auron decided to make some food before going to bed but since Jecht thought it was still a bit early he went out to see what Djose was actually like. Of course it was a disappoinment; nothing else to see but the temple and the general store. Not a single pub or any place to hang out. With nothing else to do he walked along the Mi'ihen Highroad until he came to the crossroads. 

In the north was Moonflow, which would be their next destination. In southwest was Luca. For a little while Jecht thought about walking to Luca to play blitzball but he scrapped the idea as crazy and stupid. He convinced himself to believe that very soon he'd be playing blitzball in Zanarkand again.

"Up so late?" someone said behind his back. He turned around and saw a thin little man. The man had a sad expression on his face and he was very pale, almost ill-looking.

"Just taking a walk..." Jecht muttered, obviously disturbed by the appearance of this shady person. For some reason he got a really bad feeling.

"Yes... it certainly is a nice evening. Are you a Guardian of someone...?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"THAT'S WHY!"

The little man cast a thundara at Jecht. Surprised by this sudden attack - and even more surprised that a little guy like that had such power - he fell down but rose up quicky, drawing out his sword. He was about to attack but then he heard something big - something HUGE - coming towards him. He turned around and saw a gigantic man who had been hiding somewhere nearby. The giant was holding a brutal-looking iron chain and it was obvious that it was meant for Jecht.

He was going to use his agility to defeat this man-beast who'd most probably be quite slow but the little guy made a wall of fire appear between them, blocking Jecht's way. Of course, it didn't stop his opponent from striking with the iron chain.

It hit. It hit him in the head and it hurt more than anything before. Jecht shrieked in pain and tried the spot which had been hit with his hand. His enemy hit him again in the forehead, making him fall to his knees. He felt a path of blood streaming to his face.

The giant didn't stop. He hit him straight in the face with an enormous fist, making him fall on his back with the sword still in his hand. Jecht's vision blurred but he felt and heard everything - how his nose began bleeding and how his wrist snapped unpleasantly as it was stamped on.

"That must've hurt," the small but powerful man said peacefully, sounding like he was talking to someone in a tea party. "Don't worry, you will probably survive this."

Jecht felt that hard to believe as he felt a huge foot stamping him.

"This is merely a way to make sure that you understand our message. We don't want your summoner to continue his - or her - pilgrimage anymore."

He was lifted up. He staggered away from the giant but couldn't get away. He was beaten with the iron pipe until he was back on the ground on his knees, facing the ground, blood dripping from his face.

"Now, I want you to go back and tell your summoner this message. I hope he understands, because we won't be this nice next time."

He still received one kick on his leg, although that didn't feel like anything compared to all the other pain he was suffering. He saw how these two mysterious enemies walked away and he tried to get up, but was too weak for that and lost his conciousness...

* * *

AUTHOR: Hey, nothing's better than a little violence once in a while! The plot thickens, or something. I produce weird stuff like this because I haven't written in a while, which I'm very sorry about (but you're not, probably, hehe). Well, stay tuned for the next chapter! (that sounded like some TV series from the 80's) 


	6. Bad dreams and a living nightmare

"Jecht..." 

"Jecht, wake up!"

"What the...?"

Jecht opened his eyes unvoluntarily, with a throbbing headache reminding him of last night. With sore muscles he got out of the bed, grinning painfully as every fastmovement hurt him.

"Braska, he's awake!"

Braska entered the room and slammed the door shut making too much noice, enough to make Jecht grunt in pain.

"Jecht, how are you feeling? Who did this?"

"Fuck... you can see how I'm feeling. It was some little mage that surprised me... and his huge friend that smashed my goddamned bones!"

"Sounds like Fedeen and Rigg," Braska said and Auron continued: "They are two lunatics that belong to a religious group of fanatics called 'Servants of Sin'. They have some supporters, expecially in Middle-Spira, but those two are the worst of them. They basically believe that Sin shouldn't be destroyed at all, because it just returns later and brings more desruction, and if we worshipped Sin, it'd leave us alone. You could say that Sin is their god."

"They've done the same to many summoners and their guardians before," Braska added.

"Ok... Hey Braska... have you got anything that'd ease this pain?"

Braska cast a Cure spell on Jecht, making him feel at least a little bit better. His head didn't feel like it was exploding anymore.

"Thanks."

"It's alright. Try to get some sleep."

* * *

Jecht didn't sleep well that night. Everything that had happened when he came to Spira combined to yesterday's beating was more than enough to cause him nightmares. For a while he saw the lights of Zanarkand, _heard the noice of traffic, smelled the fresh night air..._

_"Daddy!"_

_A can of beer in his hand, the sweet feeling of a champion, the memories of yesterday's decisive game still in mind... everything was perfect._

_"Daddy!"_

_What? His kid? No way. Everything was too perfect, he had no time for him._

_"Da-a-a-a-d!"_

_"What the heck do you want?"_

_The words came out more loudly than he wanted. Sudden anger took over him. Tidus in front of him shrank as his shadow grew longer. Everything look abnormal, twisted, like in a horror movie._

_"Where's mommy?"_

_Jecht looked at Tidus with a stoic look on his face. He shrank even more and everything became darker and more twisted. He was in a different place, surrounded by the horrors of night, with a feeling like he was drowning._

_"Dad, where's mommy?"_

_Tidus could barely be seen anymore. Suddenly a foot crushed him. The foot belonged to Jecht's wife, but she didn't look like her beautiful self anymore. Her skin looked old, her hair turned into thousand of little snakes, her eyes got a reddish color until another eyeball fell off, revealing a black hole where hundreds of worms were swarming..._

_"You don't deserve her!" a voice from above called. "Did you hear me? You don't deserve her... You deserve nothing..."_

_"No, stop!" Jecht shouted and tried to cover his ears. But the voice got louder and louder and the worms floated from his wife's eye, surrounding him. They were everywhere; in his ears, in his throat... he couldn't get air. Then they all merged and formed a black, solid cloth that covered him, making everything black..._

Then he woke up, gasping for air. It a took a while before understood that he was awake, that it had all been just a bad, bad dream...

* * *

Jecht's nightmare made him think about Tidus. He had been too harsh on the lil' crybaby but he only tried to raise him as his father had raised him. His old man had been his hero in the childhood and a man like that couldn't be wrong. Jecht was proud of his son but he'd never admit it. The boy was too soft and he'd have to earn his respect. Or that's what Jecht thought... 

"Jecht? You're awfully quiet," Auron said whilst walking besides him.

Truly, they had left Djose early in the morning. Jecht said that he couldn't stand lying on the goddamned bed a day longer or he'd go insane. He had enough alcohol left to make the trip less painful...

"I didn't sleep too well. Hey, are we at the Moonflow soon? I'm running out of fuel."

He pointed at his almost empty bottle. Auron sighed and said: "Yes, we're there soon."

Auron was right and the walk only took about five minutes. Then, something horrible happened.

"Auron, Braska, watch out! It's a huge fiend!"

Jecht drew out his sword, and Braska and Auron tried to stop him but they were too late. He struck the shoopuf with his sword, making it go nuts. He released his grip from the sword and the huge animal started walking around in panic, making terrible noices. A group of children barely made it out of the way and it crashed on a house instead, making severe damage. Now everybody was running away screaming as the shoopuf demolished everything from its way. Finally Braska cast a Sleep on it and it fell asleep.

"You... you FUCKING MORONS! Goddamned idiots!" a furious local shouted at them, pulling the sword out of the shoopuf's side. He threw it at Jecht, who had to duck.

"We're very sorry!" Auron apologized, knowing that they wouldn't listen.

"SORRY! Yeah, that makes it all better! Look at this place; it's destroyed! You know how much the repairs will cost? And what if the shoopuf dies? What are we gonna do for living then!"

"Calm down!" Braska said. "We'll repay you. Here!"

Braska offered their money to the man, 2100 gil. He took it quickly from him, looked at him angrily and said: "Wait here. Fucking morons."

Some of the people had returned already and they were pointing at our glorius trio, making them feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Let's go," Auron said. "He's not gonna settle with 2100 gil. Besides, I doubt those guys over there will invite us for a dinner..."

* * *

AUTHOR: I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter. You know what it's like when you're totally concentrated on writing and then some stupid fly comes to disturb you? Yeah, it totally ruins your concentration. 

To the point, I need the readers' opinions (wow, there's actually several reviewers) on two things: Is this story becoming too Jecht-centered and what did you like about that dream part? Thanks.

And finally, I probably need to apologize the lack of updates. It's summer and my mind is wandering on other things... Yeah, that's right, I'm playing FF7.


	7. Big city

Fedeen and Rigg arrived in Moonflow. Wondering about all the destruction around them, Fedeen decided to ask what had happened. 

"Three idiots made the shoopuf go mad," a man answered. "And I think one of them was a summoner, for Yevon's sake!"

"Did he happen to have a guardian with black hair and red clothes?"

"Yes. That was the man who stabbed the shoopuf! I think he was a little drunk, too."

Fedeen thanked the man and said to Rigg: "They've continued their pilgrimage. They must've gone to Lacya since it's the only way north besides Moonflow."

"We'll go and smash them!" Rigg said.

"Yes, but let's be careful. If they can cause destruction like this, they must be quite powerful."

* * *

Braska and Auron walked side by side with Jecht behind them. Nobody spoke a word until Jecht decided to remind that he'd done nothing wrong. 

"What if it had been a fiend?"

"People would've been running away. Or fighting it."

"I got scared! Sorry!"

"Less booze, more brains."

Jecht threw his bottle away. "Ok, ok, I'll stop drinking! Goddamnit."

"Hmph. We'll spend this night at Lacya. I'm sure that our friends will accomodate us..."

* * *

Lacya, the city of high-rise buildings, rich merchants and high costs. Some call it the least religious place in Spira, some call it the city of sin. Old, beautifully decorated houses stood in the shadows of high, modern-looking buildings where the richest people lived. The main street split the city in two, starting from where the rocky path from Moonflow ended, ending at the docks where ships from all over the world came to trade. The smallest ship belonged to the city's Blitzball team, Lacyan Lions, but it didn't look any worse than the other ships because it was in great shape and freshly painted. 

"The Lions are here," Braska said and looked at the harbor. "Shall we go?"

After visiting places like Djose it felt strange to be in such a big city. The smell of chocobos that were ridden by people on the street mixed with the smell of food from various outdoor restaurants that were scattered throughout the main street. People were coming from every direction, most of them looking very busy or irritable. No wonder, though, living in a place like that must be quite stressing sometimes.

Only a guard was at the ship and he told them that the Lions had gone training to the beach. He gave directions and the trio followed them, and they were surprised to find a big private beach surrounded by a high fence isolating it from the rest of the city. People could only watch the team training from a glorius restaurant built on a nearby hill.

"Caccet! It's me, Braska!"

The leader of the team, Caccet O'Leary, walked down to the gate to open it for his friends.

"Hey! I didn't know you were gonna come here!" he said.

Braska and Auron glanced at Jecht with a meaningful look.

"It wasn't planned," Auron said.

"Does it have something to do with that incident in Moonflow? You know, the summoner with his guardians, the shoopuf...?"

"Let's not talk about it," Braska decided. "It's a bit akward to ask, after all you've done for us, but we're in need of accommodation and we're short of money."

"To tell the truth, we're completely broke," Auron added, glancing at Jecht again. Jecht felt himself very very small.

"Of course we can accommodate you! You can stay at the ship since no one's using it right now."

"Hopefully he doesn't drown it," Auron thought but didn't say it out loud.

* * *

AUTHOR: Eww, school's starting tomorrow. Nah, anyways, I have to write more often. It just feels like I can't do anything that involves the brain right now. Meh. 


	8. A nightly encounter

After the long walk from Moonflow Jecht thought he could have a good night's sleep. The only thing he got was nightmares. 

This time he was on a beach. Tidus, maybe 11 years old, was there, holding a blitzball. He threw it at Jecht who had no difficulty catching it.

"Hah. That was better. But if you're gonna be rich and famous some day, you gotta throw harder."

"But daddy, I don't wanna be rich and famous."

"Yeah yeah, quit whining. You'll thank me when you're playing in Zanarkand Abes. Although I doubt you'll ever get there. Not with that attitude. But maybe you're lucky enough to get in some other team. Now let's see how you block."

Jecht threw the ball at Tidus. It was an easy one, he thought, but Tidus missed it and the ball hit a palm tree and bounced off somewhere.

"What the...! Even your grandma could block that, and she's 87! What's wrong with you!"

"But dad..."

"Yeah, right. I'm just wasting my time with you."

He started walking away from the beach. He heard Tidus following him but he pretended not to notice him. Then a few busty girls in bikinis noticed him and came to talk to him.

"You're Jecht! Man, I saw you in the last game. You were so cool!" the blonde one said.

"Heh heh heh, thanks."

"And Jecht Shot Mark III, it's so amazing!" the brunette one continued.

"Yeah, well, I spent a lot of time inventing it."

Tidus, standing in his father's shadow, said: "Dad, let's go home."

Jecht was about to tell him to shut up but suddenly the scenery changed. The blue sky changed into a dark night sky, the sand changed into asphalt, the palm trees changed into streetlights that were in crappy condition. He was in East Zanarkand, the part of the city that tourist didn't see and where nobody wanted to come. Old, run-down apartment buildings surrounded the lonely playground that was usually abandoned. Jecht kicked an empty jar aside and looked at the big man in the other end of the playground.

"What're you waiting for? Shoot," the man ordered. He was Jecht's father.

Jecht picked up the blitzball and concentrated. He threw it in the air and kicked it with all his strenght, ready to make his father proud! But he missed.

"Awww, you can't be serious!" his father complained. "If you're ever gonna be rich and famous, you have to at least hit the ball! C'mon kid, let's go inside. It's getting late."

He followed his father to the stairway of an old yellow house. The word "FUCK" was written on the wall with red spray paint. He almost tripped on a rusty bicycle that someone had brought there for some reason. Their home was on the second floor and the lock of the door was so old that it was hard to open. Jecht's dad knocked on it so his mother would come to open. He waited for a while and banged on it with his fist. Nothing happened. Then he kicked it and shouted:

"C'mon, open the fucking door! You hear me!"

"Shut the fuck up!" a neighbor shouted. It was Mr. Drough, an unemployed old drunk who had lost his wife an year ago. He was always on bad mood and fought with Jecht's dad often.

The door was opened and Jecht's mother, a 50 years old thin woman who looked at least ten years older, stood in the doorway.

"I couldn't hear you. I was watching TV..."

"Whatever," his father said and pushed the woman aside. He walked to the kitchen and opened a beer jar. "That kid'll never learn to play blitzball. The fucking moron can't even hit the ball!" the former blitzball player shouted. He had played on a crappy team something like 10 years ago and thought himself as a seasoned pro.

"Don't mock Jecht all the time! He's a good boy, he doesn't need to be a player. He should get a decent job..."

Without a warning she got a punch in her face and fell on the floor and started crying. Jecht ran to look at his mother. He was crying, too.

"Oh shut the fuck up!" his father said. "SHUT THE FUCK UP, BOTH OF YOU! What have I done to get a whining bitch and an idiotic kid! I'm going to sleep so shut up!"

* * *

Jecht woke up and could barely stop himself from crying. The emotions he had hidden when he was a child were stronger than ever. His father... his mother... He had tried to forget those times for so long and when it all came to his mind at once it was almost too much for him. 

He got out of the bed and went outside with a glass of water. The city of Lacya looked almost like Zanarkand when he looked at it from the ship's deck. Only the blitzball stadium was missing.

"What are you doing awake?"

Auron had woken up.

"I just had a nightmare. Get back to sleep."

"Nah, it's alright. I wasn't sleeping anyways. I was worrying about our financial situation."

"I can't say anything but I'm sorry. I got scared and that's it. I had never seen a shoopuf before... and with all that booze..."

"Hey, listen!"

They both shut up and heard something. Footsteps. Jecht went quickly to wake Braska up and get their weapons. He did it fast and made it back right before the intruders appeared.

"We meet again," Fedeen said.

Braska and Auron didn't need to ask anything, they realized that Fedeen and Rigg were standing there. The sickly little mage and the living tank looked confident and strong.

"You have no right to be here. Please leave immediately."

Fedeen didn't even listen. He said: "I give two options: If you stop your pilgrimage we will leave you alone. If you decide to keep on going, well... you saw what we did in Djose. Which option will you choose?"

"I will not stop this pilgrimage. Sin needs to be defeated and Spira needs to be freed. We will fight you if we have to."

"Sin is our god. We cannot let you attack his greatness. I'm afraid that we need to... kill you."

With that said he cast Blizzard and almost hit Braska. Auron and Jecht had to attack Rigg together in order to get at least a chance to beat him. As Fedeen was about to cast something, Braska attacked him with his bare hands. Fighting like that was new to him and even though his psychical condition was better that Fedeen's, Fedeen had the advantage of casting black magic spells.

While Braska was struggling to prevent him from using spells, Auron and Jecht tried to attack Rigg. The giant just grabbed both guardians from their wrists and squeezed with unbelievable strenght, forcing them to drop their swords on the ground. In this hopeless situation Jecht used a cheap tactic and kicked Rigg in the groin. Grinning in pain he released his grip and Auron punched him in the face. It didn't have much effect but gave Jecht enough time to pick up his sword. Rigg saw that he had no chance of blocking his attack so he stumbled backwards in panic and fell from the deck to the water. Fedeen, the only opponent left on the deck, gave up.

Auron put the tip of his blade on his throat.

"That's it. You'd better stop following us."

"Hahaha... fool. I'm only a normal member of Servants of Sin. Kill me and our leader will send someone else after you."

Jecht searched his pockets and took his wallet. Suddenly Fedeen cast Thunder on Auron and managed to escape by jumping to the water. He swam back to the solid ground where Rigg already was. They saw it better to run away.

"What's in the wallet?" Braska asked.

"1000 gil... nice. And a card: 'Servants of Sin - Bevelle'."

"Hmm... I've got a feeling that we'll meet again. So they're from Bevelle..."


	9. Liquid death

Auron didn't get much sleep after the encounter with Fedeen and Rigg. Every time when the wind had made something rattle, or when someone had walked on the harbor, he had gone out with his Murasame to check out if they had returned. He hated it when he couldn't get sleep. There was nothing to do but to stare at the ceiling and think about things. That was something he didn't want to do right now; thinking too much while travelling makes you homesick, and that is one of the worst feelings one can have. Being far away from home, with constant danger lurking around you, with no idea what tomorrow will bring, isn't as romantic as it sounds. No wonder that he decided to go out early in the morning. 

He felt himself energetic but he knew that it was only a lie that his body was telling. He'd get tired very soon and it would be embarrassing to fall asleep in the middle of the day. That's why he decided to go and have the medicine he needed - coffee. A very few people could be seen on the street that early and it was a little chilly. He was trembling a bit, and cursing that he hadn't taken more clothes with him, but besides that he liked to be awake in the morning. There was always the certain feeling of mystery and adventure hanging in the air at that time, and being in a new, strange city made that feeling stronger.

What a luck - a little café had just opened.

"A cup of coffee, please."

"There you go. That'll be 5 gil."

Auron handed the money.

"Thank you! It's always a good sign when customers arrive this early."

The hot coffee felt nice and warm. He looked through the window while drinking it slowly. A man who ran on the street obviously in panic caught his attention. He left the cup on the table and went outside to see the reason of panic. And there it was. A fiend. Or more specifically - a Sinspawn.

"Oh, fuck."

The blue monster was weak enough to be killed with bare arms, luckily - his Murasame was at the ship. The man who had ran in panic turned around and shouted: "Get the hell out of here while you still can! A few fishermen spotted Sin not too far away from the harbor, and that Sinspawn proves that it's gonna attack!"

_Near the harbor._

"Braska and Jecht are there," he said to himself.

* * *

Auron ran back to the ship as fast as he could, sick with worry. Sin wasn't there yet but he was sure it wouldn't take long anymore. He rushed to the deck where Jecht and Braska were. They had just woken up and they wondered what was up with Auron. 

"Sin is attacking! Let's get the hell out of here!"

While they got their personal belongings and weapons the waves were getting bigger. Sin was coming closer. They ran towards the exit of the city but Auron couldn't keep up with them because he had exhausted himself while running to the ship. It didn't matter, though, because Sin was already so near that it could be seen.

"Over here!" Braska said and opened the door of an apartment building. If they could get to the top floor - if the building withstood Sin's attack - they'd be safe. They climbed the stairs as fast as they could and found a door to the roof. When they opened it, they saw the first wave coming.

The harbor was devastated. The ship where they had just been was crushed by the tidal wave and its power was enough to make the building shake. Sin was sending more Sinspawn to the city and Auron killed one that came to the roof.

"Was that all!" Jecht asked.

"No! There's another one coming!"

The second wave made the buildings near the harbor collapse. The water mass reached a crowd of people trying to escape and demolished them. The apartment building was hit hard and it started to show signs of collapsing. People were now rushing to the roof.

"We're all doomed," Auron said as he looked at Sin.

"Not if I can help it!" Braska said and started summoning. A few seconds passed until Valefor appeared, and not too soon. The flying Aeon carried them to safety as the third wave hit the city, making the house collapse below them. It was impossible to find words to describe the feeling of looking at the people getting annihilated with the house. Children were hanging on to their parents as the falling building took them down with it.

"WHY THE HECK...?" Auron shouted with his voice filled with hatred. But Sin didn't hear him. The final wave, a real tsunami, hit the city with the power of million tidal waves, literally wiping it off the ground. At that moment hundreds of thousands of lives ended as the people trapped by the fallen debris and collapsed buildings looked at the sky for the last time, seeing only death that would reach them in a matter of seconds. The silence that descended after all the screaming and shouting was shocking.

They couldn't do anything but pray.

* * *

AUTHOR: Geez, it's frigging 4:15AM. My writing is on the other level at this time of night. I just wonder, if Sin can only attack places on the coast, why didn't they just build their cities to the mainland? What a random thought, lol. Nah, anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. 


	10. Tears

**--This chapter is dedicated to the victims of hurricane Katrina and those who lost their homes, friends and family members--**

The rest of the day had been hard and difficult. That kind of destruction was something completely new, something that Spira had never seen before. Auron and Jecht had searched for survivors while Braska had performed the sending for the dead. Their mission to save even someone had been in vain because they were alone in that wiped-out city. They had met other people only when a cargo ship had arrived, and that ship had departed many hours ago. The ship's crew would tell about the horrifying events to other people and by tomorrow everybody in southern Spira (where the ship came from) would know about Sin's latest attack. But right now Jecht, Auron and Braska were worn-out from all the work they had done and ready to leave the ruined city.

"Yevon, hear my prayer. If there is anybody - ANYBODY - in this city who is alive, please give us a sign so we can save him."

"Ahoy!"

It was almost as Braska's prayer had been answered. A little ship had arrived without them noticing. The crew got its feet wet while descending from there because there was no harbor left. That crew looked familiar and they didn't need to come very close when Braska already recognized them.

"Caccet!"

The leader of the Lacyan Lions walked through the depris-filled street with two teammates, Shalin and Tren. They couldn't believe their eyes when they looked at the destroyed city, couldn't believe their ears when Braska told them the whole story and couldn't believe that their worst fear had come true in the most cruel, shocking and unfair way. And when they finally accepted the truth that their homes, families and most teammates were dead, all they had left were tears.

* * *

Their journey continued in silence with their new companions, Caccet, Shalin and Tren. It was already dark when they left. They had so much grief and hatred against Sin in their hearts that they failed to be afraid of fiends that stocked their prey expecially at nighttime. Still, they had no trouble during their long walk to the nearest village, M'Oongaha, where an inn was still open. They payed for one night and before heading for bed they decided to have a pint of beer in a pub that was in the same building (Jecht drank juice). It was friday and the pub was almost full. Caccet with his teammates occupied a table and Braska with his guardians did the same. 

"Hey, are you coming from Lacya?" a slightly drunken man asked.

"...yes."

"Oh really? Yesterday two guys came from there... said they were going to Guadosalam... a little mage and a huge man... were they your friends?"

"No. Not friends."

Auron wasn't in the mood to answer the guy's questions. And he definately didn't want to talk about Fedeen and Rigg.

"Hrrmph... so, how was the big city?"

Auron didn't want to do it, but it would be better if everyone knew at once what had happened, instead of everyone just asking the same question separately. If he had told the guy that Lacya was destroyed, he would've passed the information forwards and everyone would've wanted a confirmation from him. So he rose up and asked loudly for everyone's attention.

"This morning Sin attacked the city of Lacya. The city was completely destroyed and the three of us survived because of Braska's summoning abilities, and they over there survived because they were fishing on a boat away from the city while this happened. Everyone else died."

People had different reactions to Auron's announcement. Some were shocked, some were questioning his sanity and some were just too drunk to say anything. Auron left the pub and was soon followed by the rest of the crowd.

* * *

AUTHOR: I'm kind of surprised because the hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans & other places at the same time while I was writing about Sin's attack. Lacya's fate resembles a bit of New Orleans's fate. I hope all the best to anyone who was affected by Katrina. 

I hope it doesn't matter that I write so seldom nowadays. It's just that I've been planning a lot of stuff, and when I've got enough money I'll go travelling so there will be a little period (week, two weeks) when I don't write at all, unless I finish this before I've got the money, which is very possible because I don't have any kind of job right now.


	11. A look to the past

Jecht had once taken Tidus to see the neighborhood where he had grown up. It had been quite a shock to Tidus, who had always lived in a safe, wealthy house. The homeless people sitting on sidewalks, a drunk who had passed out on the playground, the noices of fighting and crying coming from open windows, everything; it had scared the little kid who had never thought something like that could exist in his hometown. Jecht had seen Tidus's fear but it didn't matter to him since he'd been somewhat scared himself. Many years as a Blitzball star had made him softer, and he had felt like a stranger on those streets that were so familiar to him. 

After his mother's death Jecht hadn't kept any contact with his dad. He didn't want to see his old man but was curious to see how he was doing, so he entered the old yellow house where they had used to live. The word "FUCK" was still written in the stairway wall, faded but visible. Some other sprayings had appeared around it. They walked the dusty stairs to the second floor where the name tag on the door revealed that Jecht's dad still lived there. The neighbor's, Mr. Drough's, door was completely missing and you could see inside the apartment. Only a few carpets and a ripped sofa were there, it was otherwise empty. Jecht knocked on his dad's door.

"I don't wanna buy anything!" his father said with a drunken voice when he opened the door. "What the fuck... Jecht?"

"Yes, it's me, dad. And this is your grandson, Tidus.

He scratched his butt and looked at them with a dull look in his eyes. "Come on in," he muttered. "Sorry if it's a bit messy."

The apartment looked terrible. The floor was full of empty jars and other things that would've belonged to a trash can. The walls were stained. A bad smell was coming from the kitchen, which was even more horrible than the rest of the place. There was trash everywhere; on the table, on the washboard... The stove was dirty and there was a frying pan filled with some kind of burned food. "Disgusting" was the best word to describe it all.

"That fucker who lived next door, Drough, was killed last week. They destroyed the door and stabbed the man. I heard when they carried his stuff away."

"So that's why there wasn't a door anymore..."

"Life is crazy here. Nothing to do but drink beer and watch TV, but still you've got to be afraid. It sucks, I say. So, how've you been, son?"

"No complaints. Everything's going well. I'm living in the city centre with Tidus and my wife."

"It's good to see that you're not as hopeless as I thought you were. You could've visited, you know? I haven't seen you anywhere except the TV."

"Been busy..."

Jecht just wanted to leave. What a mistake it had been to come here.

"So busy that you've got no time to visit your old man? Why, you worthless kid... I knew I spoiled you as a kid!"

"Spoiled me! You just beat mom up, and while she was healing you beat me up! We had to carry you home after you had passed out on the street so many times that I can't remember! And did you thank us? No, you beat us up! And don't you talk about spoiling to me when we barely had food to eat!"

"Listen, I was gonna give you away when you were a baby but your mom insisted that I'd keep you. The stupid bitch. My life would've been so much better without you two."

"Well, you're alone right now and look at you. You're nothing but a sad, disgusting drunk and you blame others for your own stupidity. Look in the mirror, asshole."

"That's it. GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOME! And take that stupid kid with you! I don't need to hear this..."

"Yeah, well, we're more than happy to leave. You can stay here and rot, you shithead!"

"OUT, NOW!"

Jecht grabbed Tidus by the arm and dragged him out. His father still seemed to be shouting something after him but he didn't care. All he wanted to do was to leave that place and never come back.

* * *

AUTHOR: I thought a little chapter from the past would be nice. In case that I don't update anymore this week, I wanna say that I'm going travelling next week. I'll be away for a week or two, so no updates then. 


	12. Trouble in Guadosalam

Braska and his guardians made it to Guadosalam in no time, as it was only a short walk from M'Oongaha. Auron had told Jecht about Farplane but he was still suspicious about going there: 

"I'll 'see' the dead person I'm thinking about... I don't know. What if... somehow... I'll see my wife? Or Tidus?"

"Why would they be dead?" Auron asked.

"Anything can happen, expecially in this world. I don't know... dammit."

"Come on. Maybe you'll find out how you got here."

Jecht thought Farplane was quite an eerie place as he walked inside. He hesitated a bit but decided to go on. He had nothing to lose but maybe something to win. That's what he told himself as he tried to think about Tidus. His hands were shaking because of fear - fear that shouldn't have existed. Then he thought how stupid his thoughts were; Tidus had to be alive. There was no reason for him to be dead. It was just a stupid sensation.

"Tidus..." he quietly said to himself. Nothing. There was nothing.

Tidus was alive and that was enough for Jecht. He walked out of there.

* * *

Auron was talking to his mother. She appeared before him as beautiful as she had been two years ago, before her death. She was smiling happily. 

"Mom... I'm a full-fledged guardian now. I know you wanted me to get a steady job and start a family but this is what I want to do. I was out that day when you... killed yourself." A tear came to Auron's eye. "I could've stopped you from doing that. You were so down because dad left and I should've been there for you. But I wasn't. Now I want to make up for that by protecting those who need help. I know you would accept that."

Auron looked at his mother's gentle eyes and found comfort from them. He took a deep breath to prevent himself from crying, said good bye and slowly walked out. Jecht was waiting outside.

"Did you see any ghosts?" he asked.

"Kind of. Old memories. Did you see anyone?"

"Nope. It means that Tidus is still alive, although I had no reason to suspect that. He must be in Zanarkand."

"I guess. Sounds unbelievable, though. It won't take long for us to get there."

"You don't sound too happy about that."

Auron looked at Jecht. He didn't know about the Final Summoning? Of course he didn't!

"It's because of the Final Summoning, Jecht. I would've told you about it but I didn't realize you didn't know. A summoner needs to summon the Final Aeon in order to defeat Sin... And that Final Aeon... is really final. The summoner dies."

"Dies! You mean... Braska will...?"

"...die. Yes."

"You're cool about it? I thought you were friends. But the only thing that matters to you is that fucking temple thing! Braska will die because of Yevon! I thought we're gonna beat it like we beat normal fiends!"

"Look, Jecht..."

"I can't accept that. Either we beat it normally or you can count me out."

"You don't understand..."

"Tell me what you've decided. I'm gonna take a walk."

Auron sighed in depression.

* * *

Jecht walked away. He couldn't force himself to accept that one's life would be sacrificed because a bunch of priests demands so. He didn't know that the Final Summoning was the only way to defeat Sin - that they had gone to all the temples to acquire the Final Aeon. In his mind the whole temple was nothing but an organisation full of murderers. He kicked a tree in anger. 

"Is something wrong, my friend?" A voice from behind asked. Jecht turned around to see a priest standing there.

"Hmph. You fucking bunch of murderers."

"Excuse me?"

"You send people to die. You could build a bomb to get rid of Sin. Or would that violate your teachings? Is it better to make people die!"

"W-what are you saying? Are you suggesting we should use f-forbidden... machina!"

"Or an army. Whatever. Yevon - if he EXISTED - would hate you more because you murder people than for using machina."

"You SWINE! How dare you mock Yevon!" The priest - a well-built man in his thirties - cried. "SWINE!"

The priest pushed Jecht. Jecht pushed him back. Then he tried to strangle Jecht but Jecht managed to dodge and draw his sword. He wasn't going to do anything to the priest but the people around them didn't know that. Two strong Guados grabbed him by the arms to hold him back. At the same time Auron made his way through the crowd surrounding them.

"Stop! He's my friend! We were in Lacya when Sin attacked and Sin's toxin is still affecting him."

"That swine mocked Yevon and his teachings!" the priest said.

"Yes, that's because of Sin's toxin. Now you see what it does! Horrible, isn't it?"

The Guados holding Jecht looked at each others and let go of him.

"Get out of here. You're no longer welcome."

Auron wasn't sure if that meant them both. He dragged Jecht to the entrance of Thunder Plains.

"Jecht... when we get to the Travel Agency I want to have a word with you."

"What about Braska?"

"He's just gonna have to follow us. We can't stay here, and we definately can't wait at the Thunder Plains."

* * *

AUTHOR: Haha, almost a month without updates. A new record. I came back over two weeks ago, I've just been two lazy to write. Heh heh. Anyways, to the chapter: I can do better but a break this long affects my writing. I'd like to hear comments, though. 


	13. Braska's dark side

Jecht and Auron had made it to the travel agency. They were getting nervous because Braska wasn't there yet. Auron found the situation extremely frustrating; he wanted to head back to Guadosalam for Braska but he knew it was impossible. Jecht, however, didn't care. _Braska was gonna die anyway._

"Auron, I'm tired. I'll take a room for myself. If you're going somewhere, wake me up."

"Ok. I'll go outside for a while."

The roar of thunder sounded unbelievable at Thunder Plains. Auron stood there in the drizzle looking at the magnificent view. He could see no one in that vast area until something yellow appeared far away, at the direction of Guadosalam. First he thought it was a fiend of some sort but as it came closer he noticed it was a chocobo. It was very scared of the storm and the man on its back had hard time controlling it. A man in familiar clothes. It was Braska!

"Braska!"

Braska waved at Auron but then the chocobo made a sharp turn. His hand slipped and he fell on the mud on his face. Then the chocobo rushed towards Auron who had to dodge it. The ground was slippery and he fell on the mud, too.

"Maybe some day we'll laugh at this," Braska said.

"Maybe."

They got up with their clothes all messed up.

"Auron... tell me that Jecht didn't attack a priest. Please!"

"Now that would be lying."

"I'm gonna kill that goddamn...!"

It was the first time Auron saw Braska that angry. The guy never even cursed! And he sounded and looked like he was serious. It was scary.

"It was a stupid misunderstanding. I told him about the Final Summoning and that's the way he reacted," Auron explained.

Braska calmed down and said: "...he didn't know? Hmm. Let's take a room. I wanna get these dirty clothes off me, and have a little chat with Jecht."

* * *

Jecht's door was knocked and he went to open. Braska stood there in unusual clothes: T-shirt and loose pants. 

"Holy shit!" Jecht said. "Is that you, Braska? Didn't recognize without that usual costume..."

"It's being washed. I had a little mud bath outside. Thanks to you."

"What did I have to do with that?"

"I had to take a chocobo because... ah, forget it!"

"Where did you get a chocobo?"

"Forget it, I said! That's irrelevant. I came here to talk to you about Final Summoning."

Jecht sighed and sat on the bed.

"I won't accept it."

Braska sat down, too. He had to think for a while how to put his words.

"It's not easy for me, either. But giving my life for the mankind feels like a right thing to do. It's got nothing to do with the temple - it was my own decision to do this. I'm not as religious as the temple people but I want to do what's right! And hell, if this isn't right, I don't know what is."

"Why don't you just start an army and attack it?"

"You saw what happened in Lacya. Sin wiped out the entire city. Do you think an army would last more than five minutes against it?"

"Build weapons. Huge bombs, machine guns... A lot of powerful machina."

"You know very well that machina is forbidden in Spira! It's the reason why Sin was born in the first place. If my life is the price for a short period of peace, I will gladly pay it. You'll just have to accept it."

Braska stood up and left for the door. Jecht made him stop by saying: "I won't."

"...fine. That's your choice. Just don't attack any more priests."

Braska closed the door after him. Jecht turned off the light and laid back. Outside, the thunder kept on roaring...

* * *

AUTHOR: A short one, this time. A lot of talking, too. It turned out nice, though. 


	14. Auron and the Goliath

Auron was lying on his bed. The sound of thunder would've kept him awake anyway so he decided to stay up for a while, and look at the storm from the window. He thought he heard someone walking outside. Maybe some poor traveller who was seeking for shelter. 

The door of the travel agency kept a creaking noice when it was opened. Loud talking. The person would be disappointed because all the rooms were full. Then he heard a thumping noice and something breaking. He got a bad feeling.

"Braska... Braska! Wake up!"

Tired as hell, Braska got up slowly. "It can't be morning yet..." he mumbled.

"No, listen. Something's going on in the lobby. I heard noice..." Auron explained while putting some clothes on.

Another thumping noice. And another.

"Noicy guests," Braska concluded.

"I'll go check it out, anyway." He stood up and took his Murasame with him as he left the room.

"Wait! I'll come with you."

The window was broken and the receptionist was lying on the floor, unconcious and bloody. Rigg was next to him. He turned to face his enemies, Auron and Braska, as they came to the lobby.

"We meet again..." Auron said and took his normal battle stance and told Braska to stay back. "To tell the truth, I was hoping that you died in Lacya. Where's Fedeen?"

"He's not here. It's just me against you... two? Where's the third one?"

"Jecht! Get over here, now!"

This was the real test for Auron. He'd have to use all his fighting skills to defeat this enemy. He swung his sword towards Rigg but only managed to cut him a bit. The little wound in the side looked worse than it was, but it managed to enrage the giant. He tried to hit Auron with incredible power but luckily he was slow. Auron evaded and cut him again - in the back this time. Rigg cried in pain, turned around quickly for such a big man and grabbed Auron's throat. He choked really hard and Auron thought it was the end.

Braska, who hadn't been able to do anything in the fight, took a chair and hit Rigg in the back. The chair fell into pieces and Rigg let go of Auron. He threw Braska against the wall like he hadn't weighed anything and then started walking towards him, planning to finish him. Auron saw that his opportunity to end the battle had come. He didn't think - he just struck Rigg straight in the back. The sword went inside him and came out bloody from the other side.

That moment stayed in Auron's mind. The first human being he had killed. He let go of the sword and watched Rigg as he first fell on his knees and then on his stomach.

Sleepy Jecht came to the lobby and looked around. "Did I miss something?" he asked.

Auron didn't say anything.

* * *

AUTHOR: Another shorty, I hope it doesn't matter. Anyway... I hope I didn't make this chapter over dramatic or anything. It's just that I don't want this to become one of those stories where they kill people like it was an ordinary matter. 


	15. Ambushed!

After the night spent in Thunder Plains they headed for Macalania Temple, having decided to reach their destination as fast as possible now that one of their "biggest" obstacles was dealt with. A surprise was waiting them in the entrance of Macalania Forest. 

"Is it a long way to the temple from here?" Jecht asked.

Braska stopped to look at the map he had bought. It clearly showed the route through the forest, and it would still take some time to reach the temple, but Braska didn't tell this to Jecht, wanting to prevent him from complaining. He just said "not too long" and put the map back in his pocket. Suddenly flames arised from the ground, surrounding them.

"What's happening now!" Auron said, feeling the heat of the flames. He soon realized that it had to be magic. Braska didn't panic. He cast a water spell, distinguishing the flames. As soon as that was done, Fedeen walked in front of them with two other persons, looking dramatic.

"The summoner knows black magic. I'm impressed, although I would've enjoyed watching you burn."

Auron and Jecht pulled out their swords. There were two sword-wielding guys guarding Fedeen. If Braska would be able to handle Fedeen himself, it would be easy. Since it was a surprise to both Jecht and Auron that Braska could even use black magic, Auron decided to check if he could handle him. Braska said "yes".

Fedeen started the fight by casting a wind spell on them. It was hard for them to stay in balance and his guards used this as an advantage to attack them. Braska retaliated by casting a quake spell on him, making him fall down. Right after that he used thunder but Fedeen managed to dodge it by rolling aside. The small mage seemed to be more agile than they had thought.

Jecht's opponent lost his sword and saw it better to run away. The other guy didn't fancy a fight against two skilled Guardians, either, and ran after him. It was only Fedeen against them three now. He tried to hit Braska with a thunder spell but Braska reflected it. Fedeen screamed as the lighting hit him, but Braska wasn't done yet. He cast an ice spell, and one of the big icicles that erupted from the earth impaled Fedeen, lifting him in the air. His blood started to pour down the slippery surface of the icicle...

Auron looked at Fedeen's body that was hanging from the icicle, and then Braska. "Braska, what the hell was that?"

"You thought I couldn't use black magic?"

"Yeah. That was scary from you. Seriously."¨

"Hah. Hey, what's that over there?"

Braska reached out for a sphere camera on a tree, tucked between the branch and the trunk. He removed the sphere and activated it. It showed Fedeen and Rigg standing in some room.

_Fedeen: Servants of Sin is finished. Many of our fellow believers were caught, and those who weren't, decided to leave us. Now it's just me, Rigg and a couple of others. But we won't give up. I don't care if we die on this mission... It's for this world. Fighting against Sin must stop._

_Rigg: The summoner and his Guardians are in Guadosalam and they'll have to pass through the Thunder Plains in order to reach the Macalania Temple. I will ambush them there. If I fail, Fedeen and the two remaining members of the Servants will finish them in Macalania Woods._

_Fedeen: If we're lucky, the next thing we get to film is their dead bodies..._

Then it started playing video from the battle.

"They, too, were fighting to save this world..." Auron said.

"Their beliefs were wrong," Braska replied firmly.

"But..."

"Hey, is it possible to tape over this sphere?" Jecht asked.

"I guess."

"Good. If I die during this pilgrimage, and Tidus decides to search for me, he can find the sphere from here..."

After they had filmed theirselves and hidden the sphere, they continued their journey. Everyone's mood was getting darker and darker all the time...


	16. Final Chapter

Jecht, Braska and Auron had gone through a lot of ordeals to reach the Macalania Temple. They had been too exhausted to face the challenges of the Temple right after the recent encounter in the forest so they had accomodated themselves at the Travel Agency.

Jecht didn't show it on the outside but he was sad and confused. Although a part of him was excited about going to Zanarkand, a bigger part was sad about the fate that would await Braska. What would he do when the time for the Final Summoning came? He didn't know. He missed his old life and he didn't know if he would ever get it back. He liked his new friends and he didn't want to let them go. It looked like nothing good could happen.

Auron had changed during the journey. The uncertain young man had turned into a fighter and gained a whole lot of confidence. He wasn't as troubled about the future as Jecht was, but he was afraid about the change going on inside him. What kind of person would he become? If he didn't have second doubts about doing anything for Braska anymore, even if that meant killing, what would happen after the end of the journey? Would he be so customed to violence that he couldn't stop anymore?

Braska was calmest of all which the others sometimes found disturbing as he would still have to give his life in the Final Summoning. He had accepted what would come a long time ago and he only thought about the Calm. Everybody dies sometimes and if his death meant happiness to many others, he would be happy too. Jecht and Auron knew how he thought and his quiet bravery made them respect him so much that they were prepared to give their lives for him.

Everything went well at the Macalania temple which wasn't always the case on their journey. They still experienced many blunders, dangers and hassles but all these challenges strenghtened their spirit and made them into a group of friends that could not be separated. They had their arguments and fights but they got through it and with strenght and determination these three special men stayed together, and fought together, until the very end.

The end.

WORDS FROM THE AUTHOR:

This story didn't deserve to end like this. Over three years ago I just felt I couldn't write anymore and since then I've occasionally thought about putting a proper end to it. I can't continue writing this now, I was so different when I started this that it would feel like interfering with someone else's work. This Final Chapter is mainly symbolic, it allows me to finish something that has been "In Progress" for too long and hopefully that will make starting new stories easier.

I apologize to everyone for not updating in three years, and I thank you for reading.

-Joni


End file.
